


i’ll always be on your team

by problematiclesbian



Category: We Are The Tigers - Max Allen
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, tag wranglers this is an off broadway musical so it belongs in the theater category!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2020-01-15 00:57:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18488002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/problematiclesbian/pseuds/problematiclesbian
Summary: “You’re a good friend to her, Cairo. Kate trusts you.”Cairo shrugs, uncomfortable with the praise. She used to think she was a good friend to Riley and that ended with charges for triple homicide and accessory to the crime, so.OrThe evolution of Kate & Cairo’s friendship after canon.





	i’ll always be on your team

**Author's Note:**

> If you’re here and you don’t know the plot of we are the tigers, go check wikipedia.com/wiki/We_Are_The_Tigers  
> This story starts immediately after “the breakdown” and Riley’s subsequent arrest, so before the finale of the musical and I’m assuming the second cheer sleepover happened in early January during winter break.  
> And before you say anything, I know Preston Max Allen himself is going to break into my home and kill me for ruining his characters like this but like…. I tried my best okay?  
> Also like… this does require a bit of suspension of belief like.. Yes they probably would’ve had a long legal trial and such but i never promised realism! So here we go!

The flashing lights of the police cars are giving her a headache. 

Cairo slips away from the stern, disapproving men in uniform, sitting down on the curb. She’s still in view, of course- she’s not dumb enough to think any of them will get out of this without a charge of misconduct or two. Still, if one more person asks her if she had suspected Riley, she’s going to scream, so Cairo steps to the side, letting Annleigh take over the explanations, and instead sits on the cold cement, leaning her head forward until it touches her knees. 

It’s too cold outside. Cairo hadn’t brought a jacket- she never does when she’s here, she just borrows one of Riley’s- 

She cuts off that line of thinking before it can go any deeper. Instead, she claws a pack of cigarettes from her pocket- a bad habit that Riley had always hated ( _ but Riley’s not here anymore, is she _ ? a cruel voice in her head taunts)- and selects one before tucking the rest of the pack away and exchanging it for a lighter. 

Her hands are shaking as she tries to get the flame to catch. 

Kate drops down onto the sidewalk next to her just as Cairo succeeds in lighting the cigarette. 

Cairo barely resists telling Kate to go the fuck away. She can see Kate’s bandaged leg out of the corner of her eye, though, so she just brings the cigarette to her mouth instead of saying anything. She’s busy feeling the grief overwhelm her, anyway. How could she not have known? God, the look in Riley’s eyes when she pulled out that knife- 

Kate coughs and Cairo realizes she’s letting the cigarette burn out. She brings it to her mouth and sighs. 

“What do you want?” She asks around a mouthful of smoke.  

Kate holds out her hand for the cigarette and Cairo raises an eyebrow. Kate meets her gaze unflinchingly, so Cairo passes it to her without protest.

Kate takes a long pull without coughing, but Cairo isn’t going to show she’s surprised. 

“On the bright side,” Kate drawls, smoke wafting out of her mouth, “At least she’s still alive. I bet they’re real nice about conjugal visits in Juvie.”

“Look,” Cairo starts, her voice too weary to have its usual heat, “If you came over here to gloat or whatever, can you just-”

“No, I…” Kate pauses. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. They gave me some stuff for the pain,” she gestures with the cigarette towards her bandaged thigh, “and it’s making me. Anyway.” She clears her throat awkwardly. “I actually came over here to see if you were okay.” 

Cairo gives her a disbelieving look and Kate laughs a little. 

“Yeah, I know we were accusing each other of murder a few hours ago but…..” Kate looks out at the sleeping suburban street. “I know what it’s like to lose someone you love.” 

Cairo stiffens. “Okay, Miss. Teen Angst. Just because  _ you _ were in love with  _ your  _ best friend doesn’t mean-”

“Cairo, please.” Kate doesn’t even sound smug, just tired. “I know why you’re always a bitch about me being a lesbian. And I could see the way you looked at her.” She holds out the cigarette. 

After a pause, Cairo takes it. 

“I thought I could protect her.” She mutters, ignoring Kate’s implication, but unable to stay silent. “I thought I was doing the right thing.” 

“Is there any point in saying ‘there’s no way you could have known’?” 

Cairo exhales. “No.” 

Kate shrugs. “It was worth a shot.” 

Cairo can feel Kate’s concerned gaze on her but she keeps her own eyes on the black pavement in front of them. “This is all so fucked.” 

She can hear the conversation so clearly in her head.

“ _ Mattie is an innocent girl-”  _

_ “So are you, Riley!” _

God. What an idiot she’d been. Blinded by- well, Cairo isn’t going to admit Kate is right about anything, but. 

The police have already taken Riley away- she’d been screaming and thrashing so much they had to sedate her, but not before Riley got angry, her eyes wild and frantic as she’d screamed at Cairo to  _ do something! Help me, Cai! _

That was what she was good at, right? Helping Riley. Her best friend. Her everything, her- 

Fuck, she thinks she’s going to be sick. 

“Cairo.” Kate’s voice brings her back to the moment. Cairo blinks and realizes her eyes are full of tears. She smashes the cigarette into the sidewalk to extinguish it. 

“I’m going back inside.” She snaps, because she can literally see the pity in Kate’s eyes. She pushes off the concrete and stomps back towards the flashing lights and caution tape. Kate doesn't follow her.

 

* * *

 

The next two weeks are a blur. Only some of them are eighteen, which complicates things, but they all have some fancy, hot shot lawyer, paid for by Annleigh’s parents, and he negotiates a deal very quickly. By the time winter break ends, Mattie is out of Juvie and Annleigh, Kate, Reese, and Cairo are sentenced to twenty two weeks of community service for being accessories to the crime. They’re lucky Mattie doesn’t decide to sue them. They aren't allowed to see Riley, obviously, and her case will take much longer, based on all the whispering and paperwork Cairo sees before they hide it from her.

They go back to school. The rumors are even worse than last semester, even though no one outside the six of them knows what actually happened in Riley’s basement. Cairo breaks up with her boyfriend after classes the first day back. He asks her what happened and she tears him down cruelly before she tells him never to talk to her again. 

They all have to go to counseling, of course. Grief counseling as a group, and individual counseling for each of them. Cairo hates the therapist on sight, but it’s court mandated, so there’s nothing she can do. She doesn’t bother to listen in class. 

There isn’t going to be a cheer team this semester. Reese approaches her about possibly being the new captain and Cairo makes it clear she isn’t going to have anything to do with cheerleading again. Absolutely not. In fact, everyone in school seems to get the message that Cairo isn’t interested in speaking to anyone anymore, and everyone understands this and leaves her alone. Except for one person. 

Kate is annoyingly persistent, tracking her down in the halls, waiting for her after the group sessions. It drives Cairo crazy. She knows Kate just wants a little friend to join her pity party or whatever, but she’s not interested in holding hands and weeping over lost loves. Not with anyone, and certainly not with  _ Kate _ .

“Look.” Cairo finally snaps when Kate follows her to her car after class on Friday. “Let me spell this out for you, since apparently being in fucking mourning means you can’t take a hint. I am  _ not _ interested in sitting around the fire and talking about what we liked most about our lost loved ones, okay? And I don’t know about whatever dyke theory you have for my relationship with Riley, and I honestly don’t care! So for the love of god, stop following me around like a wounded puppy and get on with your life! Or don’t, I don’t care! Just stop trying to make it my problem!” 

By Cairo finishes her rant, she’s breathing hard, her hands balled into fists at her side. She watches the hurt pass over Kate’s face, and for the first time since that night, Cairo feels something other than overwhelming grief and the numbness that comes with it. She feels guilty. 

Kate nods her head once, her face crumbling. “Fuck you, Cairo.” She spits out before spinning on her heel and fleeing in the other direction. 

Cairo leans her head on the side of her car window and sighs. For one fleeting second, she reaches for her phone to text Riley. When she realizes her mistake, she hurls the phone into the backseat. 

“Fuck this.” Cairo says out loud. “I need a drink.”

 

* * *

 

Okay, so maybe she feels bad about what she said to Kate.

She keeps hearing Riley’s voice in her head.  _ We’re teammates, Cairo. The love of her life is dead. Show some empathy.  _

“And mine is in prison, don’t I get a pass for that?” Cairo asks out loud, but, of course, no one answers. 

Previously she couldn’t walk two feet without running into Kate, but now Kate is more of a ghost than their actual ghosts, just a flash of a person Cairo sees from the corner of her eye as she enters the hallway. In group on Thursday, Kate won’t even look her in the eye, and even the therapist makes a comment that they’re tenser than usual. 

“Well, we did just avoid getting tried for murder.” Cairo mutters under her breath as she files her nails and avoids looking up. 

“This all would’ve been over months ago if we’d just called the police instead of following your stupid plan.” Kate mutters. 

Reese sighs. “Here we go again.” 

The therapist holds up a hand. “Girls. Kate, if there’s something you want to say to Cairo, please address her directly.” 

Cairo flips her hair as she looks up to meet Kate’s fiery gaze. It’s not like this was the first time Kate’s anger has been directed at her. “Yeah Kate, go ahead. Blame me again for something you all took part in.” 

“It was your idea!” Kate looks around for support, but Mattie, Annleigh, and Reese avoid eye contact. “And isn’t it convenient that your plan protected the real killer, your best friend?!” 

“I didn’t know,  _ Kate _ ! I had no fucking clue our captain was murdering our teammates, obviously!”

“Is it obvious?!” Kate shouts back. “Because to me, the only obvious thing here is-”

“KATE.” The therapist interrupts. “If you can’t speak politely, you know you’ll have to leave.” 

There’s no way the therapist can know how much she sounds like Riley in that moment.  

Even from across the circle, Cairo can see Kate curl her nails into her palms as she bites her lip to hold back whatever she wants to scream at Cairo. 

“Look,” Cairo says, leaning back in her chair and addressing the entire group, “I know y’all don’t like me, but you have to know, I had no idea what Riley had done. I swear.”

“And were you hurt by what Riley did?” The therapist leads Cairo in that practiced, gentle voice. 

Cairo grits her teeth in annoyance, but she figures she’ll have to tell them eventually. “Yes. Okay? Yes. Riley was my best friend and she lied and she killed our team mates and she-” Cairo cuts her gaze to a spot on the ceiling- “She betrayed me too, okay? So hate me all you want, but you gotta know, I had no idea. And if I had, I wouldn’t have tried any of that shit.”

Kate sits up. “Then why did you-” 

“I said we shouldn’t call the police because I’ve seen what happens to black people who call the police, okay?!” Cairo snaps, and that finally seems to get through to Kate, because she frowns and sits back a little, crossing her arms.

“Thank you, Cairo. Does anyone else have anything to say to that?” The therapist looks around the group.

Reese raises her hand. “We don’t hate you, Cairo.”

Kate snorts. “Speak for yourself.” 

“Kate.” The therapist admonishes. 

“No, let her speak.” Cairo challenges. “Go ahead, Kate. If you hate me, just say so.” 

“Ladies.” The therapist holds out her hands as if that will stop anything. “This isn’t a productive use of anyone’s time.”

“You’ve been nothing but a bitch to me from the moment I joined this team. Why shouldn’t I hate you??” Kate demands. She looks angry but Cairo would bet anything she’s seconds away from tears. 

“I’m  _ sorry _ that I don’t want to paint each others’ nails and share secrets, okay? That’s not my thing. But I have only ever done what I thought was best for this team, and for you.” 

Kate lets out a sarcastic laugh. “Yeah, harassing me about my relationship with Chess every chance you got was really helpful. Thanks for that.” 

“You were clearly in love with her and weren’t going to do anything about it! Someone had to say something!” At this point Cairo and Kate are both standing, yelling at each other from across the table. 

“Oh, that’s a little hypocritical, isn’t it?! I mean, coming from you-”

“GIRLS.” The therapist stands up, too. “Stop it, now.” 

“Fuck this.” Kate spits out, and she picks up her backpack and storms out of the room. 

Cairo keeps her eyes on the space where Kate had been. The therapist is saying something to the rest of the group, but she’s not listening. In her head, Riley admonishes her again.  _ Go after her, Cairo. Don’t let our team fall apart.  _

“Cairo.” The counselor starts-

But Cairo is done, pushing open the door to this stupid counseling room and stalking out into the hall. 

Farther down the hallway, Cairo can see Kate hunched with her head between her knees, sobbing. 

_ That’s your fault.  _ Riley tells her. 

“Shut up. Shut up, shut up, shut up!” Cairo tugs headphones out of her bag and shoves them in her ears, turning up the volume on the first song that starts playing. She strides down the hallway without stopping, and she doesn’t look back. 

She doesn’t hear Kate or Riley calling after her.

**Author's Note:**

> my theater blog is -> likeapartywithrevenge.tumblr.com


End file.
